El Call de Girona: Narrow Streets with an Old Flavor

Girona, or Gerunda as it was first named by the Romans, was founded in the I century B.C. The most beautiful part of the city is the Call, being this a Catalan word to designate a middle age Jewish ghetto.

The origin of the Call, or ghettos, goes back to the the middle age, and they were a common feature in cities of Europe. Jewish communities were gathered together as a consequence of the intolerance by Christians against this religious group. The legality of the last one of those ghettos would be abolished during the XIX century. The most famous calls in Catalonia are the ones of Barcelona and Girona. El Call de Girona was formed around the XII century, and Jews were not allowed to live outside the ghetto or to make commerce. Even they were forced to brick the windows of the houses that had views outside the ghetto.

Nowadays, el Call de Girona is the best conserved of the middle age Jewish ghettos. Having a walk in such an old part of the city of Girona is beautiful. It has narrow streets that transports you some centuries back in time. Walking through the narrow streets you will finally end in the Cathedral of Girona, a Gothic style cathedral that has a beautiful staircase. The zone is full of nice cafes and restaurants, a good place to sit and relax.

The best way of entering the Call is by a bridge over the river Onyar. Houses of the street Ballesteries are build just by the river, and the bridge wild end in a building with an arch, you pass it and you are inside el Call… from there the best is just to walk around, no map needed, just follow the narrowest streets!

To find out more information you can visit the tourism web page of Girona (http://www.girona.cat/turisme/eng/activitats.php). It is a city that is easily accessible, nearby the city there is the airport in which operates mostly Ryanair. Although the airport is close to the city, most people who travels with Ryanair they do so to visit Barcelona so they will go from the airport directly to Barcelona by bus. But if you feel like discovering the old city of Girona it is worth to take a detour from the airport!

Note: Photos were taken with a LC-A loaded with Elitechrome 100 film and a Horizon camera loaded with Ektar 100 film. All of them were processed in a lab in Halifax (http://www.carsand.com/filmrelatedservices.html) and scans were made with an Epson perfection V700.

More Interesting Articles

Séverin Boonne considers photography as his most intimate way of expression. Aside from revealing things about himself, creating images with his trusty cameras helps calm his nerves and keeps him relaxed. In this interview, our newcomer of the week from France talks more about his humble beginnings, passion for shooting film, and more.

Have a look at these bright and beautiful medium format photographs from the community shot with the Lomography Color Negative 400 for 120 cameras. While you're at it, find out how you can earn piggies and have your own CN 400 (120) snaps be featured on the Online Shop!

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre's invention made possible photography that is literally and figuratively one of a kind. For every shot fired, the photographer can only do one print. And though the marred by stains, a daguerreotype has the long-lived charm of a museum relic.

Shop News

Really want to bring your film photos to life? We’re now offering totally analogue fine art prints in a host of large sizes and formats! Carefully enlarged from your negatives onto premium photographic paper by lab professionals, each picture is a unique piece of craftsmanship.

Chris Goodacre has been shooting on film since the late 1970s. At the same time, he also took interest in building an artillery of analog weapons. In this interview, he shares an extensive list of his collection and the fantastic story that come with each of his cameras.